In the first part of the diptych, the painting Naked Maja is depicted in Romanticism. A young nude woman is lying, with her hands behind her head and her legs slightly bent, on a wrinkled bed. Her pale face, framed by curly dark hair, is highlighted by huge black eyes, a small, slightly smiling mouth, and patches of blush too bright to be real.
This woman’s body resembles neither the conventionally antique goddesses of the Italian Renaissance, nor the opulent ladies of the Baroque, nor the porcelain beauties of Rocaille. Strictly speaking, if we disregard the doll make-up and superfluous white body, this is finally a picture of a living, real, gracefully built woman. The viewer is not distracted from her nudity by jewelry, maids, or fussing cupid. The artist makes no coquettish attempts to cover her breasts with translucent draperies; her body does not look marble or satin – it is genuine.
“The Clothed Maja” is on the same size canvas, and the young woman is lying on the same bed, reclining on the same lace-trimmed white and dull green cushions. Her posture is almost identical to her naked twin – except her legs are a little less bent at the knees. She wears a strange outfit that has nothing to do with the original Maja costumes – a white dress tied with a wide pink sash, a short jacket in pale gold and black sequins, reminiscent of a toreador suit, and impossibly tiny pointed gold shoes (which Goya has given to many women in his portraits). Goya has deliberately omitted the background; it gives the impression that the bed stands in an empty space. All viewer’s attention is concentrated on the main female image; masterful color transitions create genuinely magical effects.
Annotated Bibliography
Burns-Dans, Elizabeth. The Shadow in the Light: The Dark Romanticism of Francisco de Goya. 2018. The University of Notre Dame Australia.
The author has written other scholarly articles relating to works of art and biographies of famous artists. The article is credible because it was published by the University of Notre Dame Australia Press, which means several authors have reviewed it. This article is relevant to my argument because it discusses the characteristics of the art of the romanticism period not only from the perspective of Francisco de Goya but also other contemporary artists of that time.
Carrazana, E. J. “Francisco de Goya and the Seizing Impenitent”. European Neurology, vol. 1, no. 83, 2020, pp. 330-332.
This source is credible because it has been reviewed several times by other scholars. The article is credible because it was published in by reputable scholarly journal, which means that other experts have reviewed it. This article is relevant to my argument because it examines Francisco de Goya’s paintings from the perspective of his life situation and provides an explanatory perspective on the differentiation of his work in terms of psychology.
Cascardi, Anthony J. The Insistence of Art: Aesthetic Philosophy After Early Modernity. Fordham University Press, 2017.
The author has written other scholarly articles and various books relating to works of art and artistic styles of famous artists. This source is credible because it was published by credible scholar and has been reviewed by other experts in the art. This book is relevant to my argument because it gives an overall view of the Romantic period paintings and places the works of Francisco de Goya in the context of the general tendencies of that time.
Cipriani, Gabriel, et al. “Art is Long, Life is Short. Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828), The Suffering Artist”. Medical Hypotheses, vol. 117, 2018, pp. 16-20.
This source is credible because it was published by a reputable scholarly journal and has been reviewed several times by other experts. This article is relevant because it discusses the exclusivity of Francisco de Goya’s work in the context of the factors that influenced his worldview. Besides, the article provides a comparison of the author’s different works.
Lazarou, Anna. “The Romantic Movement on European Arts: A Brief Tutorial Review.” Scientific Culture, vol. 1, no. 2, 2015, pp. 39-46.
The author has written other scholarly articles and various books relating to the history of art. This source is credible because it was published by a credible scholarly journal and has been reviewed by other experts in art and history. This article is relevant to my argument because it gives a well-structured summary of the creative process of artists of that time and particularly their artworks and how each artist’s style was different.
Tomlinson, Janise. Goya: A Portrait of the Artist. Princeton University Press, 2020.
This source is credible because it was published by an internationally recognized authority on the Spanish artist Francisco Goya y Lucientes and his era. This book is relevant because it gives detailed answers to questions about the life and creative work of the artist and their influence on his paintings. Furthermore, this book provides a better understanding of the artist’s psychology, enabling a more accurate analysis of his work.